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Terms of use

Key terms

User types

Anonymous user

An Anonymous User is defined as anyone who visits the Whale mAPP website without logging in.

Public user

A Public User is defined as an individual who has created a public account type through the Whale mAPP website and is either logged in to the Whale mAPP website or contributing data using the mobile application.

Expert user

An Expert User is defined as an individual who has requested and been granted an expert account type through the Whale mAPP website and is logged in to the Whale mAPP website or contributing data using the mobile application. Experts must be naturalists on a boat, boat captains, have a degree in marine biology, or have another qualification.

Types of data

Registration data

Registration data includes: first and last name, email, location of use, account type, and a user ID (a combination of first name, last name, and “whalemapp”).

Contributed data

Contributed data is the data contributed by all user types. Data include observations and tracks. Observation data includes single point location data and non-spatial details associated with the observations (species category, type, number of species, presence of calves, behavior, sea conditions, weather, confidence rating, notes, and corresponding attachments [i.e., photos]). Track data includes location data (created by using point location every 30 seconds to create a track line for the entirety of a trip), along with start and end times/dates, boat name, and boat type.

Reserved data

A single piece of reserved data gets generated for all contributed data: the unique data ID. The unique data ID is a string generated using the time (in epoch format), a 16 digit hexadecimal key for the contributing Android device ID, user ID, and a string describing where the data came from – the version of the application is used for data submitted through a mobile device and “WEB” is used for data submitted through the website.

Terms of use

The following terms and conditions govern all use of all data and content available at or through the Whale mAPP website and all associated mobile apps or other delivery/interaction platforms. The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, The Whale mAPP Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time.

Ownership of data

All registration, reserved, and contributed data collected using Whale mAPP mobile applications becomes property of Whale mAPP. Additional information on the use of data is described in the Use of Data section.

Expert and Public users are responsible for maintaining their data. Details of their data (tracks: boat name, type; observations: species category, species type, number of species, presence of calves, behavior, sea conditions, weather, confidence rating, notes, and corresponding attachments [i.e., photos]) can be edited through the Whale mAPP website.

Use of data

Registration data is intended for use by Whale mAPP personnel, and will never be shared. Contributed data may be used and re-distributed according to the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode). Raw contributed data can be freely used and re-published but manipulated variations cannot. Individual users should never be identified, credit given only to Whale mAPP. Reserved data is only intended for use by Whale mAPP users and is not covered under the Creative Commons license.

Data visualization

Anonymous, Public, and Expert users can view contributed dataon a map via the website’s mAPP page at scales ranging from 9028 to 5. Additionally, data can be filtered by date, user type, data type (tracks and observations), and species category.

Data download

Contributed and reserved data can be downloaded by Public and Expert users for personal or research purposes.

Public Users have the ability to download their own contributed data and reserved data in csv or shapefile formats.

Expert Users have ability to download their own contributed data and reserved in csv or shapefile formats. Additionally, Expert Users have the ability to download contributed data for the entire Whale mAPP community. Upon download of others’ contributed data and reserved data, Experts Users have agreed to obtain all necessary permissions for their research, such as Institutional Review Board (IBR) approval.

Changes

Whale mAPP reserves the right to modify or replace any part of the Privacy Policy or Terms of Use documents. However, Whale mAPP is responsible for informing users of updates made to this agreement.

Limitation of liability

Our services and mobile applications are provided as-is and as-available and you assume the entire risk as to your use of our services and the content available through our services. We make no specific promises about our services, mobile applications, or content available through our services, including with regard to their availability, reliability, functionality, accuracy or truthfulness, or lack of viruses or errors. Whale mAPP will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, exemplary, punitive or special damages, or data arising from this Agreement or your use of our services and mobile applications.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Whale mAPP, or its creators harmless against any and all losses, claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.